Do you agree: storytelling is THE buzzword of the year in marketing and communications? From what I've seen, and read, and experienced, it sure is. I also got addicted (and still am) to studying storytelling and learning how to use it as a powerful tool in PR and social media (see here, here, here and here).

Apparently, the hype hasn't just affected me, but the whole profession seems to be fascinated with storytelling for business.

This was more than evident at the dmexco in Cologne last week – the international digital marketing exposition and conference with the motto "connecting the global digital economy".

I was at the #dmexco on the second day and even though I got to choose which seminars and sessions to visit, many of them touched upon or were entirely focused on the importance of brand storytelling.

But why this sudden fascination? Why this massive interest?

Big shift in media

Well, one of the reasons, obviously, is the "big shift in media" that we've observed over the last decade or so.

This shift is what Jonah Peretti, CEO of BuzzFeed, presented in a really cool and funny way at the closing keynote at the event.

When talking about the "evolution" of BuzzFeed, he said that the company has quickly grown to an organisation which has the reach of a traditional media company, but doesn't function as one. This has been due to the emergence of thousands of new media technologies and types, which on the other hand have transformed media consumption and information sharing.

Today, attention has shifted – your audience is on social and mobile, not TV or radio.

So, the learning here is this: be where your consumers are and be relevant.

The key to successful leadership lies in being human. That's what Unilver's CEO Paul Polman deeply believes in. You wouldn't really expect that to be the most important attribute for one of the world's most influential leaders and especially for a male executive, considering how the general perception of a great leader is the domineering, command-and-control and know-it-all male.

But with the increasing requirement for full transparency, interconnectivity and a values-led approach, it seems that there's something missing in today's prevailing leadership style.

A "female" touch.

We all know about the many opportunities and substantial value social media provides for communications, marketing and for business overall, at least you should if you've been following my blog. What's still a grey area though is the adoption or rather acceptance of social media by the highest hierarchical level (if we can call it that way) in an organisation - the C-Suite.

One of the very fundamental things about social media is that conversations happen all the time, no matter whether you are listening, participating or ignoring them. This means that even if senior management is not following or engaging on platforms such Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram etc. people are still talking and are by driving the conversation about the brand. Those conversations are often so powerful that they even manage to shape the brand's story and significantly influence corporate reputation. Isn't that a reason enough for CEOs to join the conversation and share their voices?

Apparently, for many it is not.

What does sustainability mean to business? Is it about reducing environmental impact? Or maybe about improving reputation through CSR activities? Is it worth it? How can we translate this sustainable business vision into actual business operations? How can we align commercial performance to sustainability for the long run? Those are questions that many leaders and company executives ask themselves when being faced with the challenge of adopting sustainability in their organisations.

The truth is, if truly embedded into every part of the business, sustainability can offer tremendous competitive advantages.

This is not something I just made up. Many studies and even my own research have shown that embracing sustainability and effectively managing the triple bottom line can be a key driver for innovation, growth and progress.

A recent survey by BSI and Verdantix confirms that yet again.

150 sustainability executives from 20 industry sectors, including retail and consumer products, consumer services, manufacturing, business and financial services, oil and gas, utilities and mining were part of the research, depicting a fairly sound representation of organisational leadership.

The overall finding was that the majority of business executives (70%) identify sustainability as key growth driver, however, connecting sustainability to overall financial and business performance still remains a challenge with only 51% believing that sustainability issues will impact their firm’s financial performance over the next two years.

This year international business and political leaders met again at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to discuss politics, economics and social issues as well as trends and solutions for future transformation. At my agency Brandzeichen, which is part of the Ketchum network, I recently had the pleasure of listening to a very insightful webinar about the key topics of the WEF. The webinar was held by Rob Flaherty, CEO of Ketchum, and Barri Rafferty, CEO for North America at Ketchum.

While listening I wrote down a few things that got my attention - these impressions are what I want to share with you today, after having done some additional research.

The following eight key areas were the focus of the 2014 World Economic Forum in Davos.

#1 Youth unemployment

According to the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, youth unemployment is Europe's "single biggest crisis". Why? Because 1 in 4 youth are unemployed. That's a scary number!

Noticeable trends towards solving this problem are the transition back to vocational studies, increased opportunities to work from home and entrepreneurism. Literacy is key to end extreme income divide and poverty.

The major players to help tackle this issue are business, government and civil society - or the Golden Triangle.